New to Streaming... and to OBS

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GShock112

New Member
Hi guys,
thank you for this marvellous tool you're giving us, for free.

I'm not exactly a n00b with computers but I am completely new to the youtube live streaming picture which, naturally, brought me here to OBS.
The learning curve is not that steep and the interface is intuitive enough but I did stumble on an unexpected set of difficulties related to OBS and YouTube streaming so, after checking all those fancy videos on YouTube on how to do something work, I decided to come here because there's something that puzzles me.

I stream my indoor cycling trainings with a laptop... The app is called Rouvy and it's a full screen application. OBS in the background uses 2 webcams, the music from the laptop (no microphones, for the moment) and of course I would like to add the youtube chat on screen.

Now... I can add the YouTube chat on OBS and it works perfectly but there appears to be no way, at least not with OBS, to make that chat appear on screen when I am on the bike. How is this possible? How do I actually see the YouTube Chat inside Rouvy while I am biking? Can OBS do it or do I need other apps?

Thanks, sorry I know it's a stupid question. Currently I am using Botrix chatbot and a twitch chat overlay. IT WORKS, but I don't like this at all...

How is it possible I need something else other than OBS to do it I wonder... Did I miss the option? I repeat: I need to SEE the YouTube Chat inside Rouvy.
I can see it in OBS but I can't see it in Rouvy... unless I use this combo Botrix/Twitch Chat Overlay which I don't like. Are there any other not too complex options? Perhaps inside OBS... that I missed?

Thanks again, guys.
 
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Lawrence_SoCal

Active Member
Beware music copyright issues... certain prevent monetization (you may not care)... but all audio could get muted in certain regions or video blocked outright??

GShock112 said:
I repeat: I need to SEE the YouTube Chat inside Rouvy.
I can see it in OBS but I can't see it in Rouvy... unless I use this combo Botrix/Twitch Chat Overlay which I don't like. Are there any other not too complex options? Perhaps inside OBS... that I missed?
Click to expand...

BEWARE, your question as worded has specific technical implications.... which I suspect you don't actually mean

So, no, unless you re-coding the Rouvy application, you aren't going to see other site (YouTube) chat 'inside' other app
However, if you mean seeing a chat window (of some nature) on top of the Rouvy display... that is easy/native to OBS Studio compositing
- Display/Full Screen or Window capture of Rouvy
- Window Capture chat window... crop as appropriate... in OBS Studio Window have this source above (in front of) Rouvy (ie, move Rouvy to 'background')... so Picture in Picture... chat window running in the background but visible in OBS Studio in foreground.

Now, whether you want to use an OBS Studio browser session? a plugin? or a native browser app (running in the background) and use Window capture as noted above

The issue will be if you want to see that combined OBS Studio composited output on a single display
At which point a 2nd monitor would come in really handy... otherwise maybe having to use some virtual display option?
'cuz at that point, you are effectively wanting Rouvy, Chat window, and OBS Studio in background and see OBS Studio's composited output on monitor, right? Maybe have OBS Studio in foreground (ie see Preview Window), Studio Mode off, and is that good enough?
 
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GShock112

New Member
I thought OBS could by itself add overlays. I do bike with a big tv screen in front (where I see Rouvy of course) but all is handled by the laptop via HDMI cable, so technically I could set up 2 screens and make things a lot easier, keeping OBS on the laptop and Rouvy on the big screen.

At any rate the issue with the floating youtube chat visible on Rouvy is because they page me on apps that send notifications to the watch and that disturbs me.

If they see I do read (even if I can't answer while biking because I'm too sweaty to touch anything safely) it's a lot better. Sometimes they just need my yes/no. Technically I could just shake my had or nod to reply. No point in monetizing and since the music is the same in my phone, as soon as i get off the bike, I use the livestream on the treadmill at the gym. No other reasons to livestream really, and I can't even see the chat or the biking data on the cell phone when I am on the treadmill because of contact lenses. Can't see much when I wear them, within 1m distance but beyond 1m those little numbers or the chat are simply too small to see.

Yes I do regularly get notifications of copyright issues that do not allow monetization but again, I am not interested in monetizing. I barely have 1 view on these livestreams I use mostly for the music on the treadmill and despite 2 mails a day from youtube telling me so, when I run on the treadmill the music is always there. I would do the unlisted livestream at this point but the instructions of botrix/twitch chat overlay state it must be public. Honestly I don't even understand why the bot would be necessary but the guy in the video who explained how to make this overlay chat work said so, so I set it up that way. It DOES work in Rouvy. It is working in fact.

You are talking way too technical for me. All I want is a working chat overlay during the streams if some of my friends need to bug me and i was wondering how comes OBS doesn't allow to do so by itself, without the use of third-party applications.

This thread is more like: I am a n00b and wish to learn how to make this work and also why OBS doesn't do it by itself. There is virtually no overlay setting, not in filters, not in properties... And I see everything perfect in OBS but basically nothing in Rouvy. So for example if I wanted to see one of the webcams I have to see it in the livestream, not during the ride, not while on Rouvy and this is weird.
 
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Lawrence_SoCal

Active Member
GShock112 said:
I thought OBS could by itself add overlays. I do bike with a big tv screen in front (where I see Rouvy of course) but all is handled by the laptop via HDMI cable, so technically I could set up 2 screens and make things a lot easier, keeping OBS on the laptop and Rouvy on the big screen.
Click to expand...
You could easily set OBS Studio's composited output (ie Roucy app, chat window, and any other overlays) to large TV screen. That could be OBS' projector output, or simply connect TV as 2nd monitor to laptop, and have OBS Studio on large screen.. so you are seeing the preview window

GShock112 said:
You are talking way too technical for me. All I want is a working chat overlay during the streams if some of my friends need to bug me and i was wondering how comes OBS doesn't allow to do so by itself, without the use of third-party applications.
Click to expand...
You are asking technical questions, for which there are multiple solutions. None of us know your exact setup, available options etc to advise specifically (beware anyone who does.. as they are just saying what they would do or did) with no recognition of Pro's & Con's and your specifics)... but it will require you understanding some of the technical details.

GShock112 said:
This thread is more like: I am a n00b and wish to learn how to make this work and also why OBS doesn't do it by itself. There is virtually no overlay setting, not in filters, not in properties... And I see everything perfect in OBS but basically nothing in Rouvy. So for example if I wanted to see one of the webcams I have to see it in the livestream, not during the ride, not while on Rouvy and this is weird.
Click to expand...
this appears to be a conceptual mis-understanding on your part...
you must understand the Source inputs you have (Rouvy app, chat window, etc), the OBS Studio Preview window where you arrange those sources, add overlays, Picture-in-Picture, etc, and the composited output.
- You have an option of capturing each 'Source' individually; or you could arrange all on a single monitor, and capture that display. Personally I prefer capturing individually, as I can then crop the Source (in this case the chat window) to my preference (I wouldn't want to see the application title window, status bar, etc)

The basics of OBS Studio is not easy, but not that hard. Once you start getting sophisticated, its gets complicated quickly, and its free, so documentation and end-user ease of use don't get the level of attention that for-pay software does. I'm HIGHLY technical, and it took me months to get a solid handle on OBS Studio for my use case (more complicated than yours). ymmv

You may wish to start with things like The OBS Superuser Guidebook (free PDF)
 
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GShock112

New Member
Thank you guys for your explanations. I am going to work on the other solutions you proposed, starting with this github-baffler. In the meanwhile I am positive 100% the overlay I was using does work and its a victory for me. I'd rather use only OBS and Rouvy. I was just surprised Rouvy did not offer its own in-built overlays.

Basically the Rouvy app is full screen and the only thing I could use is the youtube chat ON SCREEN so that if somebody messages me there, I can see it. For the rest, such as wzp, msn, tgm there's the Suunto Race watch that pushes the notifications through the cell phone and I can actually reply via phone because it's 'protected'. I can't with the laptop because I am so sweaty I don't dare touch it. On the contrary I keep a spare towel only to dry my right hand and arm, so I can touch it... And I only touch it to quit Rouvy and turn off the streaming, the music, the laptop the big screen. All the things I mentioned, excluding the phone, are used exclusively for indoor cycling. I am basically streaming so I can see the races again when I am running on the treadmill and use the same music.

I think a great solution would be to keep Rouvy on the big screen and OBS on the laptop but again, I can't use its keyboard or mousepad because of the sweat. One thing i noticed is how extremely compatible OBS is.
I started with the internal webcam of the laptop, then added the phone camera. I used DroidCam first, then the app suggested by OBS itself, whose name is Camo. Never an issue with either or both cams... with this extra webcam I now have the phone free and am planning to put it down behind the bike to show the rocker plate. No issues and yet the issue is there if you think about it.

If I wanted to actually see the 2 webcams inside rouvy, I'd have to use overlays just like I do with the overlay I am using whose explanations I found on YouTube... which begs the question: why didn't OBS plan and realize the overlays by itself?

Simply put, Imagine I wanted to see 3 cams plus the YouTube chat directly on the big screen where Rouvy, which is full-screen, is running. Imagine I also wanted to add the Windows Media Player in an overlay that I can use (WMP can't be operated in the background and as I said, I cannot touch the laptop when I am on the bike) OBS is a recording/streaming program but isn't it supposed to do these things too? It's all about overlays the way I see it reading your explanations.
 
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